Is this job a scam?

Question

I have a friend that started a job and was promised a pay of $2200 a month. She will be selling vaccum cleaners. The vaccum is a Kirby and sells for a whopping $3000. Considering her pay and the cost of the vaccum I began to be concerned so I checked out the Better Buisness Bureau. The complaint read as follows:
The BBB processed a total of 3 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 3 complaints in the last 36 months, 1 of those was closed in the past 12 months.
Complaints Concerned
Sales Practice Issues: 3
Outcome of all complaints -
Resolved: 1; Administratively Closed: 1; No Response: 1
I suppose these complaints don't mean much considering there weren't that many and they've been in buisness since 1999. I'm mainly worried because my friend is dealing with CPS and trying to get financially stable to get her child back. Maybe I'm worrying too much. Is there any other investigating I could do?

Answer 1

I understand your concern for your friend, but 3 complaints isnt all that bad for a company, depending on how long they have been in business. Also, when you are dealing with sales, you are prone to get complaints, because some people have buyers remorse or they feel like they were pressured into buying a product.

Answer 2

Kirbys are expensive - one can argue wether or not they are worth the value, etc. Rainbow is another example of expensive door to door vaccum sales.

Where this type of thing runs into problems is with the elderly. Salesman calls upon an elderly person, who accepts their sales pitch and then buys the vaccum cleaner. Then son/daughter/etc. finds out that Grandma just plunked down $3000 for a vaccum cleaner and they file a complaint, arguing their loved one has diminished mental capacity and that the salesman took advantaged of their loved one (and in some cases, with an unethical salesman, this may well be the case - you do have to at some point question does the salesperson realize the person they are selling to isn't in a position to be making these kinds of decisions).

These companies tend to be very good about refunding the money in these cases. They don't want the bad press. They don't want to rip people off - they honestly think their vaccum cleaners are worth this kind of money.

I'm not so concerned about the BBB complaints. I think a lot of these would fall into the above scenario. Some would be from unethical salesperson, some the salesperson honestly thought the person was competant to make these kinds of decisions.

What I question about the whole thing is the Salary. Is this guarenteed or is it based upon comission? And your friend is putting themselves into a position where they can be accused of unethical behavior. Will they be in a position of making tough calls ("I need this sale, but is this person competant?"). Ask them to put the salary in writing - if you need a lawyer to read the writing - don't sign up.

Answer 3

I had a friend who worked for them in Wisconsin and they did lie. They also said you could make $2000+ every month and led that the potential to do so was there. They even said that my friend would be paid a flat rate of $500 every two weeks even if you do not sell anything. My friend found out that the catch was this ... if you do not sell any vacuum cleaners you do not make any money whatsoever. The flat rate is a lie and making $2000 and up is a lie. He sold over 50 vacuums in a month and only made $950 in that time. I later found out from a woman that worked there that 50 vacuums was the most they had ever sold in 7 months prior to his hiring and my friend was doing it every month after he got hired. I would tell your friend it is a waste of time and that companies like that are full of crap. They keep your profits and give you what's left over or whatever they deem is good.

Answer 4

seems like a scam to me. based on what you wrote it appears that all you do is accept payment and then send 90% of the payment on. If that is the case then it can only be a scam. Basically the scammer will eventually need you to tell them your bank account number, branch location, your identify, address, name, dob etc etc Once the scamer has all that info, they can take money out of your bank account. This is't a legit job ... nor is the company legit. If the company is legit it would have a business license and a bank account.

Answer 5

I wouldn't say it is a scam per se but she will probably only be paid when she sells vacuums on a commission type basis, so she will have to work her butt off setting up appointments and such. The 2200 dollars is probably an estimation of how much you could make in a month if you sell a certain amount.

I would have her try to find a more steady hourly wage job.

Answer 6

Is your friend actually working for KIRBY or another company? My big concern would be where is this friend going to market the vacumm. $3000 is a lot to pay which will make sales harder to come by...

If your friend found the work on the internet, you can google that company name with [scam] after it and see what you come up with.

Nice of you to be concerned for your friend.
~jennifer

Answer 7

It's my opinion that whenever a job advertises "Make up to $X a month" it's a scam. This is probably just like Cutco knives where you have to buy the product in order to being selling. Most people never make their money back and the company wins out without actually having to do anything. So, if your friend has to buy a $3,000 vaccuum and can't sell one, they make probably about $2,900.

Answer 8

You know, if something sounds too good to be true, it generally is.
Kirby vacuums have been around a long time and have been sold door to door always. There have been many compaints about how this company does business.
I'd suggest that you tell your friend that she should reconsider. Show her the information from consumer affairs below.
Best of luck!

Answer 9

Kirby has been around a very long time. The company is reputable however it is some of their salesmen who are not. If your friend can sell, she'll make a good income. No CPS worries either.

Answer 10

She probably gets paid on commission, so she has to sell a certain amount of vaccuum cleaners to get that much